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The Curtis Corner |
Ptolemaic Phalangite Project: Phase One
The
Requirements
A short while ago, my friend Jeff asked me if
I would like to paint some 1st Corps Ptolemaic Successor phalangites to
complete a unit for him. Now Jeff and I both
had received samples of these when they were first produced, and Jeff had painted up his
samples and posted them on his site:
http://ancientbattles.com/WAB_Ptolemaic/1stCorps_Ptolemaic.htm
Jeff’s original paint job looked like
this:
I was delighted, not only to be able to work
on a unit for Jeff, but because it would give me an incentive to finish my own. Both of us had added to our samples to create a
proper phalanx for Warhammer Ancient Battles, but as we discussed
the work, it appeared that still more figures would be needed. A quick order to 1st Corps supplied the
necessary figures.
Jeff supplied me with the two sample
phalangites he had originally painted. But he
had modified them. The sample figures were
from 1st Corps’ original Ptolemaic range.
But the company had since expanded to a full Successor range, and had redone their
Ptolemaic phalangites in a style consistent with the rest of the range. However, as we found, the older figures are still
available on request.
Jeff wanted to mix the older and newer
figures in the same unit, with the newer figures, holding their pikes more upright, in the
rear ranks. But the newer figures have greaves
molded on. So Jeff had done a paint conversion
on his older samples, and they now looked like this (my photography isn’t as good as
his!):
As you can see, the phalangites have had some
color added, and their greaves have been painted on. They
look very nice. Jeff wanted me to reproduce
this on the rest of the older figures in the unit. No
problem! However, I’m not planning to add
greaves to my own unit, just to be different.
Jeff’s rear ranks will be the newer
figures:
These come with the shields on the left. Jeff wanted to replace these with the Newline
shields on the right, as a better match for the more deeply dished—and
rimmed—cast-on shields of the older figures. Again,
no problem! That will be part of the assembly
process.
So, before adding in to the front rank the
already-painted command figures and phalangites, Jeff’s unit will look like this:
Note that he is including in his first two ranks a proportion of figures in Macedonian helmets and linothorax; the third through fifth ranks are all in Egyptian quilted cotton helmets and corselets.
And mine will consist of all native Egyptian
troops except for the command, and will be all the older 1st Corps figures:
On to the figure prep!